Kerry works to quash Pakistani skepticism over U.S. aid efforts

U.S. and Pakistani leaders are scrambling to save a $7.5 billion
aid bill that Pakistani critics have derided as being too intrusive.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.)
and Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi met Tuesday to
discuss Pakistani concerns that proposed infrastructure and education aid will
be diverted to U.S. security firms and military drones. 

{mosads}Kerry defended the aid package by emphasizing
that the funds are for non-military purposes, but pledged to specify the bill’s “true, legitimate” intent with the additional language that he said would have the force of law.

“It is clear from our discussion that the bill has not been characterized
accurately in some quarters,” Kerry said. “So we will indeed over these next
few hours make certain there is no capacity to mischaracterize or
misinterpret.”

Qureshi said he was sent to Washington by Pakistani’s
parliamentary leaders to head off growing criticism in his country, and
repeated a message he delivered recently to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
that Pakistan will not accept impositions.

“The affairs that have been raised in Parliament need to be
addressed … Pakistan will not compromise on its sovereignty. We will not allow micro-management,”
Qureshi said. “The message is loud and clear, and it has been understood. We
are going to work on this collectively to give it the correct interpretation.”

Kerry and Qureshi plan to meet again Wednesday.

Kerry told The Hill that most of the criticism in Pakistan was political,
although he conceded “some fear” among the military as well. He said the
clarifications should ease those concerns.

“It’s politics, and different people are trying to play to the
public in different ways, and so we just need to make sure there’s some clarity
about what the bill seeks to do,” Kerry said. “There were some concerns in the
military about some of the language, and I think there were some concerns in
the Parliament that was exploited. The bottom line is, we have the ability to
clarify it and we will.”

Kerry is scheduled to fly to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday
for about a week of meetings with leaders of the two countries.